Turkey is a country that could be a goldmine for any journalist. The agenda of the country is full of such a wide range of issues that even a seasoned Turkish observer can be overwhelmed, let alone a foreigner. This also makes Turkey an interesting case to follow. One day we debate the accuracy of a TV series on life in the Ottoman palace following criticism by the prime minister, the next day we find ourselves in the middle of a debate on abortion and even C-sections.
I’d like to provide you a synopsis of some of the issues that dominated the domestic agenda of Turkey in recent weeks:
Wise men committees: Hardly anyone could trace this debate to its origins, but all of a sudden Turkey began to discuss the lists of names that could be included in the “wise men” group that could facilitate the settlement process with the Kurdistan Workers’ Party (PKK). Although government members talked vaguely about a suggestion to form such a group to “convince public opinion on the negotiations,” in the prime minister’s terms, and no names have been uttered by any official authority, lists of names appeared in many mainstream newspapers of the country. Among the names that were obviously randomly picked were liberal columnists and Kurdish intellectuals, but also an actor named Kadir Inanir, who is highly irrelevant to the issue. Aside from his one recent comment in favor of peace in an interview, nobody really knows what his contribution could be. When a deputy prime minister finally announced that no names were determined yet, the discussion slowed down. However, in the meantime social media in particular focused on a debate on possible names rather than the details of the process. Given how we handled even the potential formation of such a group, I have strong doubts that it could serve any good. Both the process and the idea of wise men are critical issues that deserve to be discussed with a serious attitude. When formed, the wise men committee should include people that not only intellectuals could welcome, but the overall population could respect and listen to.
Apology: Just one day after the country witnessed the historic “peace call” at Nevruz (a spring festival particularly celebrated by Kurds in Turkey), Israel’s long-awaited “apology” has come. Barack Obama brokered the peace between Turkey and Israel just before he ended his visit to the latter. Turkey announced that all of its conditions to normalize relations after the fatal Mavi Marmara raid by Israeli forces that ended in the killing of nine Turks in international waters in 2009 were met.
The “apology” was considered a diplomatic victory of Turkey by many, but a debate has emerged over why Israel actually apologized three years after the incident. Some argue that it was somehow connected to Syria or Iran while Foreign Minister Ahmet Davutoglu dismissed this. Amid these scenarios, something that could probably only happen in Turkey took place on the streets of Ankara. The mayor of the capital from the governing AK Party decorated the streets of Ankara with billboards expressing “gratitude” to Prime Minister Recep Tayyip Erdogan on his victory over Netanyahu. This act almost unanimously was considered as an election investment of the mayor to be considered as a candidate by the prime minister in local elections next year while taking its place in the long record of idiosyncrasies in Turkish politics.
Press freedom: Turkey cannot be considered a fully liberal democracy yet. Accordingly, it has problems in the implementation of laws in interpreting terrorism, which results in the imprisonment of people advocating for the terrorist organizations (this is subject to reform currently). However, it would be an injustice to the country to consider it in the league of China in terms of freedoms.
I believe the biggest obstacle in the way of complete freedom of press is the media ownership by big business owners. Due to their economic interests in state tenders and all, more often than not owners of the media in Turkey impose an internal censorship on columnists.
Of course, the intervention of the prime minister in the media and his telling newspaper owners whom to employ is not acceptable either. However, in a country where a businessman calls the prime minister and asks whom to appoint as the editor-in-chief to his newly bought newspapers (Vatan and Milliyet), the burden remains on the shoulders of the latter. Most recently, veteran journalist Hasan Cemal was fired from Milliyet after his final column criticizing the problematic structure of media ownership in Turkey was not published in the paper (it was later published by Internet media). It is still not totally clear whether the prime minister’s criticism of his previous column on the settlement process scared the owner, the Demiroren family, and led to Cemal’s layoff.
Mosque on Camlica Hill: On Saturday the construction of the long-debated mosque on Camlica Hill started. Despite a project contest, many, including me, argued that a bad copy of an Ottoman mosque on a hill would be a betrayal of the city’s rich heritage.
Along with the mosque, projects to redesign Taksim Square and a hideous bridge on the Golden Horn are in progress. Even as an Istanbulite, I have no idea who proposes offers and decides on such projects that will leave a permanent mark on the city.
Anything that will have an impact on a historic city like Istanbul should be decided by a major consensus after careful deliberation of experts and public opinion. However, we live in a system run by “fait accompli” mentality.
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